Radio antenna retracting mechanism



May 18, 1937. G.E. lRvlN l RAD'IO "ANTENNA RETRACTING MECI'INISM Filed Aug. 4, 1934 lll:

INVENTR l l Y Gfeo/ye E//fls Irv/'n ATTORNEY'Kv Q Tra 6 ,IL

Patented May is, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,080,539 l I RAnio ANTENNA aErnAcrmG MEcnA- f 4 als f .REISSUD George Ellis Irvin, Kansas City,'Mo., asslgnor to e o' fntrlc" mmm? l R 8 1941 Application August 4, 1934, soi-lol No. 738,552

claims. .'(Cl. zs0-as) l The present invention relates to radio antennae and more particularly to antennae of the retractible type adapted for use on aircraft.

Heretofore, an aircraft antenna of the retract- Eig. 2 is a detailed longitudinal radio antenna and its retractin mechanism per se;

Fig. 3 is a partial detailed view of the exterior of the intake end of the retracting mechanism;

pressure for operating gyroscopic indicating in- 5 ible type was generally wound on a reel which had and Y Y 5 to be rotated manually by the pilot when letting Fig. 4 is a sthematic view of another embodilthe antenna out and hauling it in. This required ment of the invention whereby a saving of space along and tedious operation by the pilot when he is eiected. wanted to use his radio signalling system. Also, In accordance with the present invention there` l0 the antenna was always permanently connected is prflviddl a relavely'long tube Withiil which 10 to the radio signalling apparatus, i. e., when it theradio antennais adapted to be housed when was reeled in and when it was reeled out for not in use and preferably having substantially use. Such a permanent connection was a source the same length as the antenna. The tubeor of danger in the event the pilot failed to reel out antenna housing is m'ade to function as a cylinder 1.',- -the antenna when operating the radio transmitter of a fluid pressure motor and for this purpose one 15v because the high frequency currents emitted from end thereof is connected to a source of 'fluid presthe antenna, when coiled on the reel layer upon sure such as air pressure. and means are provided layer, werexapt to set fire to the craft. whereby air may be passed into and exhausted One of the bbjects of the present invention, from the tube.` A piston is provided within the therefore, is to provide' a retractible antenna tube and is adapted to be moved therein in one 20 having novel means for quickly and automatically direction when pressure is applied and in an ejecting it from and retracting it into the airopposite direction when suction isapplled'to the craft and forautomatically connecting it to and ,same end of the tube. This movement of the disconnecting it from the radio signalling appapiston within the tube is then utilized to eject ratus when ejected and retracted, respectively, the antenna from and to haul it into the tube 25 whereby the difculties mentioned above are elimand, therefore, one end ofl the antenna wire .is inated. l connected to this/piston. An arrangement is also Another object is to provide novel power reprovided whereby the antenna wire is automatitracting mechanism for a radio antenna whereby cally connected to a radio signalling apparatus the latter may be ejected and retracted quickly, when theantenna is. ejected from the tube and 30 automatically and substantially instantaneously. immediately upon the piston reaching the end Still another object is to provide novel power of its travel in an outward direction and whereby retracting mechanism for a radio antenna wherethe antenna wire is immediately disconnected by fluid pressure and/ or suction may be employed when the piston starts its inward travel upon, rto eject and retract the antenna substantially inhauling in of the antenna. 35 -stantaneously, i. e., by a relativelyshort oper- Referring to the drawing, an'dmore particularly4 ation. to the schematic arrangement shown in Fig. 1, The above and other objects and advantages of the novel antenna retracting mechanism, las set the invention will appear more fullyhereinafter forth above, comprises a relatively long tube 5, 40 'from a consideration ofthe detailed description preferably of some suitable light weight material 40 which follows, taken together with the accontsuch as aluminum, for example, mounted in the. panying drawing wherein two embodiments of fuselage 6 of an aircraft such as an airplane. the invention are illustrated.` It is to be ex- The tube 5, in the present instance, preferably expressly understood, however, that the drawing is tends substantially frOm a DOiIlt near the OOCkPi for the purpose of illustration and description to the tail of the airplane kso thatv its length is 45 Y only and is not designed as audenition of the practically equal to the desired length of the radio limits of the invention, referencebeing had for antenna. to be employed. The. outer or tail end this purpose tothe appended claims. A 1 of the tube 5 is open to the atmosphere and In the drawing wherein likereference characthe inner end 8 is connected to a. suitable source. .50 ters refer to like parts throughoutv the several o f pressure such as avacuumpump 9 through 50 views: valves I9 and Il and conduitsy i2, I3, Il, I5'and Fig. lQis aI schematic view showing one em` I 6. The vacuum pump 9 is preferably operated bodiment of .the invention installed on an aircraft by the engine -of the aircraft which is generally such as an'airplane, 'for example; f l provided with such a pump 'for furnishing a fluid section of the 55 l co struments such, for example, as the turn indicator, the directional gyro andthe articial horizon.

By means of valves I II and II and'conduits I3 i and I4, the conduit I2 may be alternately connected to the pressure conduit I5 or the suction conduit I5 of the vacuum pump 9. To eect this change from pressure to suction by means of the valves I and II, the latter are provided with actuating members I1 and I8, respectively, which may be in the form of push buttons mounted on the usual instrument panel 6a for example, and adapted to -open their respective valves when pushed inwardly and to close said valves when moved outwardly, either manually or by means'v Within the tube therev of springs (not shown). is provided a piston I9 the structure of which will be described more fully hereinafter. 'I'he tube 5 and piston I9, therefore, constitute the' I2, I4 and I6 and thereupon piston I9 is forced' practically instantaneously to the other end 1 of the tube 5. On the other hand, when valve I I is opened by means of its actuating member I8 a suction is introduced to the end 8 of the tube. 5 through the conduits I2, I3 and I5 whereupon thel piston I9 is immediately and practically instantaneously moved from 'the outer end 1 to the inner end 8 of the tube 5 by means of the suction. This movement of the piston is utilized to eject and retract the antenna wire shown at (preferably a relatively stiff steel or phosphorbronze cable) and for this purpose, one end of the antenna wire is connected to the piston I9 as shown, and the other end, i. e., the trailing end is provided with a weight 2| which is generally employed in aircraft radio antennae of the trailing type.` Thusit will be seen that in order to eject the antenna 29 for use, the pilot has only to press the actuating member I1 of the valve I8 and the antenna will be instantaneously forced out of the tube 20 through the tail end of the fuselage of th'eaircraft by means of the piston I9 and when the pilot is through using the antenna all he has to do is to push the actuating member I8 of the valve II and the antenna 20 will be immediately retracted into the tube 5 by means of the suction acting on the piston I9 until the weight 2| strikes 'the end 1 of the tube, said weight 2| thus constituting a stop for the antenna.

It is desirable that the antenna wire 20 be automatically connected to a radio signalling unit shown generally at 22 when the antenna is ejected from the tube and to be automatically disconnected from the signalling unit immediately when the antenna is retracted into tube 5. For this purpose the antenna 2l is providedI with a metallic contactor shown in the form of a brass knob 23 at the point where the antenna is connected to the piston, said knob 23 being adapted to engage a cooperating contact 24 at the outer end 1y of the tube 5. The contact 24 extends to the interior of the tube so that as the piston I9 flies outwardly. by means of pressure, toward the end 1, the contactor 23 immediately engages the contact 24. therebyproviding a connection to the radio-signalling unit by means of a conducting wire 25. Thus, it will be seen that the only time that the antenna 29 is connected to the radio sigber hose.

nailing unit 22 is when the antenna wire is ejected from the aircraft for use and only when the piston I9 is at the outer end 1 of the tube 5.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, there is shown a practical and preferred construction embodying the present invention, wherein the inner end of the tube 5 is secured to a support having a base 25 which is adaptedto be fastened to the fuselage in any suitable manner as bymeans of screws gage the cylindrical member 29 on diametrically opposite sides thereof. For this purpose said cylindrical member is provided with two attened portions on those sides, one oi' which is shown at 31 (Fig. 3).

The interior of the member 34 is provided with a chamber 38 which is adapted to communicatel with the interiorof the tube 5 by-means of a channel or passage 39 and which merges with a threaded opening 49. A threaded nipple 4I is provided in the threaded opening 40 for connecting the conduit -I2 to saidv member 34. Between the ends 35 and 36 of the member 34 and at the point where thel body of said member engages the end of the cylindrical member 29, said member 34 is provided with a curved surface 42 l(liig.

3) which cooperates in sliding engagement with a corresponding curved surface on the engaging end of the cylindrical member 29 in order that the member 34 may be pivotally moved about the member 29 transversely thereof (in the direction of the arrow) to provide, in eil'ect, a breech lock so that the connecting parts may be readily inspected without disconnecting the member 34 from the cylindrical member 29.

In order to permit pivotal movement of the member 34, the conduit I2 is preferably made of some suitable flexible material such as gum rub- When the member 34 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, an air-tight connection is provided between the conduit I2 and the end 8 of the tube 5. f

The piston I9, in the form shown in Fig. 2, is constituted by a. pair of washers 43 and 44 of some suitable flexible material such as leather, for example, which form an air-tight fit within the tube `5. Each of the washers 43 and 44 is interposed between a pair of -ilanges 45, 48 and 41, 48, respectively. The flanges. 43 and 41 are preferably secured to or formed integrally with a cylindrical vhollow member 49 through which passes a short rod 50, while the flanges and 48 are in the form of washers adapted to be placed onl the rod 59 and held against the exible washers-43 and 44fby means of nuts 5I and 52, respectively. The antenna wire 29 is connected tothe piston I9 by means Iof contactor` 23 which, as previously indicated, is preferably in the form of a brass spherical knob in order to provide a rm l from the tube.

The collar or flange 53,;ls secured to an insulating plate 56' in any suitable manner as. for example, by means of screws 51 and 58, said plate 56 being in turn secured to the tail end of the fuselage 6 in any suitable manner as, for ex` ample by means oi screws 59 and 69. Adjacent vided in plate 58 through which the antennav length of the fuselage. ejected from the bottom of the fuselage, as shown,

the plate 56 is provided anotherinsulating plate 6i and held thereagalnst by the screws 59 and 60, said plate 6I having a central raised portion 62 concentrically arranged with an opening 63 provided in said plate and with an opening 64 .pro-

cable 20 passes. The raised portion 620i plate 6| acts as an abutment against which the weight l2l is adapted to strike .when the antenna is manent electrical connection between the contact 2l and said lead-in wire.

Thus, it will be seen that when the antenna wire is ejected from the tube 5 by pressure acting on the piston i9, the contacter 23 is seated in the seat 55 of the cylindrical portion 54 of the contact 2,4 and thereby provides an automatic connection to the signailing unit 22 (Fig. 1) by means of the lead-in wire-25. On the other hand, when the antenna is retracted and drawnv into the tube by suction acting on the piston i9, the connection is immediately and automatically broken.

Referring to Fig. 4 there is shown more or less schematically another embodiment of the invention wherein the tube 5 is coiled in a plurality of concentric convolutions instead of being in the form of a; straight tube thereby permitting installation of the tube in a relatively small space when space is not available throughout the entire The antenna is then or from the tau thereof, if desired. otherwise the structure of the entire mechanism is the same as that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. If desired, however, the piston i9 may be made slightly arcuate to conform to the curvature of the convolutions of the tube in the event that the piston is found to be retarded when the antenna is being ejected from or retracted into the coiled tube.

There is thus -provided a novel power retracti ing mechanism for radio antenna of the retractible type particularly adapted for use on aircraft whereby the antenna may be quickly and automatically ejected and retracted and whereby the antenna may be automatically connected to and disconnected from a Iradio signalling apparatus carried by the craft when the antenna is ejected and retracted, respectively.

Althoughlonly two embodiments of theinvention have been illustrated and described, other changes and modifications in the form and rela- -f tive arrangement of the parts, 4which will now appear to those skilled in the art, rnay be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Reference is, therefore, vto be had to the appended claims for a definition oi' the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

i V 3 l. In combination on an aircraft, a radio signalling apparatus, an antenna of the trailing type adapted to be connected to and disconnect- 'ed from said signalling apparatus, a tube of substantially the same length as said antenna and forming a housing'therefor, a source of uid pressure connected to said tube, and means operated by said fiuid pressure for electing said antenna from and retracting it into said tube.

2. In combination on an aircraft, a radio signalling apparatus, an' antenna of the trailing type adapted to be connected to and disconnected from said signalling apparatus, Va tube of substantially the same length as said antenna and 3. In combination on an'aircraft, a radio signailing apparatus, an antenna of the trailing type adapted to be connected to and disconnected irom said signalling apparatus, a tube of substantially the same length as said antenna and forming a housing. therefor, a source of fluidpressure 4connected to said tube, means operated by said uid pressure for electing said antenna from and retracting it into said tube, and means effective upon ejection and 4retraction of said an- -tenna from and into said tube Afor automatically connecting andv disconnecting said antenna to and from said signalling apparatus.

4. In combination on an airplane, a tube extending substantially longitudinally of the fuselage of the airplane, a radio antenna of the trailing type-within said tube and of substantially i the same ,length as said tube, a source of uid pressure connected to one end of said tube, the

,otherA end of said tube being open to the atmosphere, a piston in said tube and connected to one endof said antenna, Sand means `for controlling the connection between said source and said tube to provide pressure or suction on said piston whereby the latter respectively ejects said antenna from or retracts it into said tube.

5c In combination on an airplane, a radio signalling apparatus, a tube extending substantially longitudinally of the fuselage of the airplane, a radio antenna of the trailingtype within said tube and of substantially the same length HS said tube, a source of fluid pressure connected to one end of said tube, the other end of said tube being open to the atmosphere, a piston in said tube and connected to one end of said antenna, means for controlling the connection between said source and said piston whereby lthe latter respectively Vejects said antenna from or retracts it into said tube, and means including a contact carried by the tube at the outer end thereof and connected to the signalling apparatus, `and a second contact carried by the antenna at its inner end for engaging said first contact to automati- .of said antenna, and means for controlling the connection between said source and said tube to provide pressure or suction on said piston whereby the latter respectively ejects or retracts said antenna from or into said tube.

' 7. In combination on a'n airplane, a radio signalling apparatus, a relatively long coiled tube, a radio antenna of the trailing type ,within said tube and of substantially the same length as said tube, a source of fluid pressure connected to one end of said tube, the other end of said tube being open to the atmosphere, a piston in said tube and connected to one end of said antenna, means for controlling the connection between said source and said tube to provide pressure or suction on and means including a contact carried by 'the tube at the outer end thereof and connected to the signalling apparatus, and a second contact carried by the antenna at its inner end for en`- gaging said first contact to automatically connect said antenna to vsaid signalling apparatus upon ejection of said antenna from said tube.l

8. In combination, a lradio `antenna. of the trailing type for aircraft, a tube forming a housing for said antenna, a source of uid pressure connected to saidtube, and means operated by said fluid pressure for ejecting said antenna from and retracting it into',said tube.

9. In combination. a radio antenna ofthe trailing type for aircraft, a coiled tube forming a, housing for said antenna, a source of uid pressure connected to-said tube, and means op- 1 erated by said fluid pressure for electing said antenna from and retractingdt into said tube.

"10. In combination, a radio antenna of the trailing type for aircraft, a concentrically coiled tube forming a housing for said antenna, a source of fluid pressure connectedl to said tube, and means operated by said fluid pressure for ejecting said antenna from and retracting it into said. 

